NEWS RELEASE Contact: Jorge Luis González at 413-545-4482 or [email protected] or Sue McFarland at 413-577-2486 or [email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 25, 2010 WHAT: Zakir Hussain Presents Masters of Percussion WHEN: Saturday, March 27 at 8 PM WHERE: UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center Concert Hall University of Massachusetts Amherst TICKETS: Call 1-800-999-UMAS or 545-2511 for tickets or go online to http://www.umasstix.com/ IMAGES: To download images relating to this press release please go online to http://www.fineartscenter.com/centerwide/pressRoom/
(TABLA MAESTRO AND WORLD MUSIC LEGEND ZAKIR HUSSAIN PRESENTS MASTERS OF PERCUSSION AT THE UMASS FINE ARTS CENTER)
Zakir Hussain is revered both in the field of percussion and in the music world at large as an international phenomenon. A classical tabla virtuoso of the highest order, his consistently brilliant and exciting performances have established him as a national treasure in his own country, India, and earned him worldwide fame. His playing is marked by uncanny intuition and masterful improvisational dexterity, founded in formidable knowledge and study with his father, the legendary tabla master Ustad Alla Rakha. On Saturday, March 27, concertgoers will have an opportunity to experience Zakir Hussain's mastery of the tabla, as well as the virtuosity of his eight accompanying Masters of Percussion at the UMass Fine Arts Center Concert Hall. The performance by these supremely accomplished musicians will offer the audience an opportunity to experience both melodic (raga) and rhythmic (tala) development, and will feature traditional repertoire from Hindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian) classical traditions, North Indian drumming on tabla in solo and duet, as well as excursions exploring the frontier between traditional and contemporary, folk, and classical genres. Widely considered to be one of the chief architects of the contemporary world music movement, Zakir's contribution to music has been unique, with many historic collaborations including Shakti, which he founded with John McLaughlin and L. Shankar in the early 1970s, the Diga Rhythm Band, Making Music, Tabla Beat Science, Sangam with Charles Lloyd and Eric Harland, and recordings and performances with artists as diverse as George Harrison, Yo Yo Ma, Joe Henderson, Van Morrison, Giovanni Hidalgo, Billy Cobham, dancer Rennie Harris, the Kodo Drummers, and many more. His music and extraordinary contribution to the music were honored in April, 2009 with four widely heralded and sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall’s Artist Perspective series. Zakir has scored many films, including Heat and Dust, Bertolucci’s Little Buddha, Vanaprastham (The Last Dance), Saaz, Everybody Says I’m Fine, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, In Custody, and The Mystic Masseur, these last two directed by Ismail Merchant. . A child prodigy, Zakir was touring by the age of twelve. He came to the United States in 1970, embarking on an international career which now includes no fewer than 150 concert dates a year. In 1992, Planet Drum, an album co-created and produced by Zakir and Grateful Dead veteran Mickey Hart, became the first recording to win a Grammy in the Best World Music category, the Downbeat Critics’ Poll for Best World Beat Album, and the NARM Indie Best Seller Award for World Music Recording. The band re-emerged as the Global Drum Project, and toured widely in the ’07 and ’08 seasons. The Masters of Percussion include musicians of the first rank playing a range of Indian instruments, including the sitar and sarangi (a North Indian stringed instrument played with a bow). Members of the Masters of Percussion are Taufiq Qureshi, Zakir's brother and fellow heir to the legacy of Ustad Alla Rakha; violinists Ganesh and Kumaresh; sarangi player Sabir Khan; Sridar Parthasarathy on the mrirdangam; Navin Sharma, on the dholak; and drummers and dancers, the Motilal Dhakis from Bengal. There will be a pre-performance talk with Ranjanaa Devi, Director of the Asian Arts & Culture Program, from 7 to 7:30 PM in the rear seating area of the Concert Hall. Tickets for Zakir Hussain Presents Masters of Percussion are $35, $25, and $15; Five College/GCC/STCC and youth 17 and under are $15. Tickets are available from the Fine Arts Center Box Office at 545-2511 or 1-800-999-UMAS, or on the Fine Arts Center ticket website at http://www.umasstix.com/. Zakir Hussain Presents Masters of Percussion is co-presented by the Fine Arts Center Center Series and the Asian Arts & Culture Program. The performance is sponsored by 93.9 FM The River. This concert is funded in part by the Arts Jobs program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Images suitable for press coverage are available at the Fine Arts Center website: http://www.fineartscenter.com/centerwide/pressRoom/.
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